Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Now more than ever, we must speak up for teachers | Taking Note

Now more than ever, we must speak up for teachers

by JOHN MERROW on 16. MAR, 2011 in OP-ED, THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS, INNOVATION, JOEL KLEIN, PARENTING, PBS NEWSHOUR, TEACHING

American public education remains front and center — which is not necessarily all good, but on the whole it’s a heck of a lot better than a sharp stick in the eye, and better than being ignored.

No Child Left Behind

Start in Washington, DC, where President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are calling for some fundamental changes in the law known as No Child Left Behind, the Bush Administration’s version of Title One of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. I doubt you could find more than a handful of educators who like NCLB these days, but whether anyone in the nation’s capital will be able to agree on what a new version should call for is highly questionable.

To recap the law’s flaws would take a long time; Learning Matters produced an award-winning series on it a few years ago, which you can see here. In my view, the best thing about NCLB was its insistence on ‘disaggregating’ data so that high scores from one group can no longer mask low performance by other

Mich. Workers Set to Rally Against Snyder's Attack on Democracy | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG

Michigan Workers Set to Rally Against Snyder’s Attack on Democracy

by Mike Hall, Mar 16, 2011


36Share

Thousands of Michigan union, community, student, faith and other activists are on their way to Lansing today for a massive rally to protest Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) blatant assault on democracy with his “financial martial law” bill that won final legislative approval yesterday.

The so-called emergency managers bill would allow Snyder to declare a “financial emergency” in a city or school district and appoint a manager with broad powers, including the ability to fire local elected officials, break teachers’ and public workers’ contracts, seize and sell assets, eliminate services—and even eliminate whole cities or school districts without any public input.

Michigan State AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney says the bill is:

an affront to the bedrock principle of a representative democracy that our nation was founded upon.

Like Republican Govs. Scott Walker (Wis.) and John Kasich (Ohio) and others who have mounted an unprecedented and coordinated assault on workers’ rights and middle-class jobs, Snyder claims the new law is simply a tool to address the state’s budget woes. But his own policies—including an 86 percent cut in corporate taxes accompanied by tax increases on working families and cuts to school budgets—strip away the claim’s veneer. Says Gaffney:

Michigan politicians have capitalized on our state’s budgetary woes in order to ram through legislation that rather than create jobs, takes away even more rights and resources from Michiganders and instead gives an unprecedented amount of power into those connected to the governor.

Working families want the politicians to set aside agendas and come together to focus on strengthening our economy.

Filmmaker Michael Moore, who is helping organize today’s protest, says Snyder ran as a pragmatic, anti-tea party Republican but “once elected, yanked off his nice-guy mask to reveal that he is in fact a multimillionaire hell-bent on destroying our state and turning it over to his buddies from Wall Street.”

We must stand up against these Draconian measures and this outrageous attempt to rip our democratic rights from us by turning our state over to well-paid hacks from Wall Street and corporate America. They see our state as one big fire sale—and they are licking their chops to get their hands on what is still a state rich in natural resources and industrial infrastructure.

Become a Fan on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter

Subscribe to YouTube

Subscribe to Blog RSS

Arne Duncan: Uncommon Wisdom on Teaching

by Arne Duncan

Much of the conventional wisdom today about the difficulty of elevating the teaching profession is mistaken or exaggerated. Many people believe that the challenges facing the teaching profession are largely unique to each nation. Others contend that the status of the teaching profession in America and other countries is largely immutable, fixed by economic and social tradition. Or they believe that teachers unions are inevitable roadblocks to reform, rather than potential sources of knowledge and expertise.

We disagree with all three of these popular assumptions -- which is one reason why we have convened the first-ever international summit on the teaching profession for high-performing nations and rapidly-improving countries on March 16 and 17 in New York City. The stakes for strengthening the teaching profession could not be higher: The quality of the teacher in the classroom is the single biggest in-school influence on student learning. And in the knowledge economy, the quality of student learning is one of the biggest drivers of national growth, economic competitiveness, and social responsibility.

It's true that every nation has unique characteristics of its teaching profession. Few countries can simply adopt wholesale another nation's system for recruiting, training, and compensating teachers. Yet many high-performing

Lack of Leadership in Life Long Learning « My Island View

Lack of Leadership in Life Long Learning

March 16, 2011 by tomwhitby

The term Life Long Learning has been bandied about by educators for years. It is a term that has worked its way into Mission Statements of schools across our nation. It is a term that teachers use with their students. It has become a goal that every teacher strives to put in place for students. It is also a goal that many (not all) teachers, for the most part, do not apply to themselves.

I sometimes think that our culture, demanding that teachers be content experts, is a hindrance to education reform. There is an implication that an expert is supposed to know it all. That position may limit a willingness to learn. How can a teacher be the expert, if he/she has more to learn? Even if one was an expert in some content area and at one point knew all that there was to know about a given subject, there is still always more information being developed. With the advancement of technology this is happening faster, and in more volume than ever before. Content experts remained experts longer in the

5 Republicans Block June Vote on $12 Billion From Extending Current Taxes to Save California Schools

BREAKING: 5 Republicans Block June Vote on $12 Billion From Extending Current Taxes to Save California Schools

by cynthia

Governor Jerry Brown wants to hold a June, 2011 election where Californians can vote to extend existing taxes to lessen radical cuts to public schools due to budget shortfalls. If the current taxes are extended, the shortfalls will be much smaller. We can bring in as much as $12 billion dollars by extending the current taxes that will otherwise expire.

More than 41,000 people have signed a petition organized by Educate Our State in support of the vote. But a handful of Republican lawmakers believe they can obstruct the much-needed June vote. We’re running out of time to save teachers from being fired, and children’s class sizes from shooting up to 30 and 40 students per remaining teachers.

Who are these people who don’t even want Californians to vote on the issue? They are:

Sen. Tom Berryhill R-Oakdale, Senate District 14, fax : 559-253-7127, email: senator.berryhill@senate.ca.gov

Sam Blakeslee R-San Luis Obispo, fax: 916-445-8081, email: senator.blakeslee@senate.ca.gov

Anthony Cannella R-Ceres, Fax: 916-445-0773, Email: senator.cannella@senate.ca.gov

Sen. Bill Emmerson, 37th State Senate District, R-Hemet, State Capitol, Room 4082, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 651-4037, Fax: (916) 327-2187
Tom Harman, 35th State Senate District, R-Huntington Beach, State Capitol, Room 5094, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 651-4035, Fax: (916) 445-9263

What the heck, give the head of the California Republican caucus some hell too:

Sen. Bob Huff, 29th State Senate District and Chair of the Republican Caucus, R-Diamond Barr, State Capitol, Room 5097, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 651-4029, Fax: (916) 324-0922

If you live in any of these districts, call, mail, or visit them at their district offices NOW.

Teamster Nation: WOW rally recap: Almost too many to keep track of #StandUpOH #OHUnion #WIUnion #NewLabor

Teamster Nation: WOW rally recap: Almost too many to keep track of

WOW rally recap: Almost too many to keep track of

by Teamster Power

If it hasn’t come to your state, it is going to be coming to your state real soon. You need to stand proud. You need to stand strong. There are a lot of Governor Walkers out there. There’s probably one in your state right now.

Those are the words of Sen. Jon Erpenbach, one of the 14 Wisconsin Democratic state senators who left the state in an attempt to block ~~Koch whore~~ Gov. Scott Walker’s bill. He was speaking to the IAFF legislative conference on Monday, according to The Hill.

It has come to Tennessee, where people protested the Legislature's attempt to strip teachers of their collective bargaining rights.

Troopers forcibly carried out seven union supporters from the Tennessee's legislative office complex on Tuesday after their protest disrupted a Senate committee hearing

The disruption occurred after hundreds of labor supporters gathered for a midday protest near the

Ackerman: Moffett 'crossed the line' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Ackerman: Moffett 'crossed the line'

by Benjamin Herold on Mar 16 2011 Posted in Latest news

Photo: Harvey Finkle

Superintendent Ackerman at the March 9 SRC meeting.

Tags:

Despite an avalanche of criticism, Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools Arlene Ackermanremains adamant that exiled Audenried High teacher Hope Moffett should be fired for “poor judgment” that jeopardized the lives of her students.

“The issue for the District has never been about [Moffett’s] First Amendment rights,” said Ackerman. “We believe that Ms. Moffett, in her zeal to help children understand they have a right to protest and voice their opinions, crossed the line.”

During an extensive interview with the Notebook on Tuesday, Ackerman acknowledged that others might see the District’s treatment of the 25-year-old Moffett as heavy-handed, describing it as “arguable” whether her actions warranted termination.

But the superintendent made no apologies.

“As far as I’m concerned, when you endanger the welfare of children, you’ve got to take the disciplinary action that comes with it,” said Ackerman.

The District alleges that without notifying parents, Moffett provided students with

West Coast Watch: Winds Chase Evacuees in Japan | Dissident Voice

Winds Chase Evacuees in Japan | Dissident Voice

Winds Chase Evacuees in Japan

by Rady Ananda

In a deepening tragedy, after an earthquake and tsunami caused four explosions at nuclear reactor plants in Japan, most of those who evacuated the area headed south, since winds normally would have pushed the radioactive clouds to the north and east. Instead, winds pushed the r-clouds south, according to The Australian. The shift in winds now threatens Hawaii with fallout from the Fukushima nuclear facilities.

Officials finally admit radiation has reached lethal levels in the area surrounding the explosions. Tokyo, 200 miles to the south, is also seeing higher levels of radiation. “[A]bnormal radiation and traces of radioactive elements were detected around Greater Tokyo, the world’s most populous metropolitan region with 36 million people.”

The paper also noted that “Hong Kong, The Philippines, Singapore and South Korea began testing Japanese food imports for radiation yesterday.”

Though initial mainstream news sources downplayed the danger, mocking the following map which has gone viral, it now seems wise for North Americans on the West Coast to consider relocating, at least temporarily. Radioactive winds are expected to hit North America tonight.

Below is the sequence of events based on current information:

Reactor No. 1. First explosion, March 11 at Fukushima Daiichi plant on east coast, 200 miles north of Tokyo. A hydrogen explosion caused by nuclear fuel rods overheating and then coming into contact with water collapsed the outside walls and roof of containment vessel. Hourly radiation leaking from Fukushima is equal to amount

WE ARE ONE Campaign to Support Embattled Workers Kicks of Solidarity Week on April 4 #1u #wiunion #standupOH #

We Party Patriots » Blog Archive » WE ARE ONE Campaign to Support Embattled Workers Kicks of Solidarity Week on April 4

WE ARE ONE Campaign to Support Embattled Workers Kicks of Solidarity Week on April 4

The AFL-CIO has launched a national campaign to make April 4th, the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., a national day of solidarity for workers in states battling anti-worker measures. The celebration hopes to kick off a week of rallies around the country. Huffington Post made note of the campaign last week.

Online tools are being offered to help people engage with this effort.

The Labor Action Center allows people to locate rallies or set up their own. It also lists a few rallies you may not otherwise know about that lead up to April 4th.

The We Are One Facebook Page supplies a stream of updates from the state battles as well as first-person accounts of efforts around the country.

When searching for information about ongoing state battles on Twitter, use hashtags #1u, #wiunion, #standupOH and #stateSOS.

You Can Defend Alexandra Wallace’s Right to Free Speech Without Defending the Speech Itself « Student Activism

You Can Defend Alexandra Wallace’s Right to Free Speech Without Defending the Speech Itself

by Angus Johnston

There’s something I find very weird about the campus-free-speech crowd centered around FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education).

Every time a new example of incendiary, bigoted campus speech hits the news, the FIRE folks rise up to defend the speaker’s right to his or her opinions — as, in my opinion, they should. Like them, I’m generally opposed to campus speech codes and in favor of the principle that more speech is the best remedy for bad speech.

But see what I did there? I called bad speech “bad speech.” Because my opinion on whether speech needs defending has nothing to do with whether I consider that speech obnoxious. I’m happy to describe bad speech

Tax the Rich: Madison Protest Time-lapse (Full Length) #wiunion

stumptownfilms on Mar 8, 2011

Recall Walker and Tax the Rich:
Time-lapse from the Governor Walker Union Busting Bill Protests in Madison, Wisconsin

2940 Photos of protesters on the square.
Leave a note if your eye is quick enough to spot yourself in one of them.

Thanks to Katie Garrity, Clifford & Raihala, S.C. and Linda Clifford Law Office for letting me shoot in their business space. Also Debra Lopez, all the random protesters that joined in... especially the guys with the palm trees... and the Madison Children's Museum- amazing inside and out.

Superintendent reveals cure for poo-poo brain | theteachingwhore

Superintendent reveals cure for poo-poo brain

by theteachingwhore

Peach Grove GA (TWP)

Peach Grove Public Schools has reportedly initiated a new technology and electronic policy for the next school year. The policy is detailed in a 168-page document that explains the rules governing the use of all digital and electronic devices in the school, including cell phones, I-pods, I-pads, I-peds (electronic sneakers), and I-ponds (digital water bottles).

Superintendent Jordan Eslinger noted that the district needed to “revamp our policies on the appropriate use of electronic devices so that we might enter the 21st century digital paradigm.” The district’s policies came under fire when high school geometry teacher Sheryl Newley was reprimanded for allowing a student to use her phone

This Week In Education: NCLB: Does Republican Reauthorization Refusal Help Obama?

NCLB: Does Republican Reauthorization Refusal Help Obama? No one seems to be buying the White House call for quick reauthorization. House Chairman Kline said he didn't want to rush. An unnamed Senate GOP aide told Politico that Obama's was a nice speech but didn't move things one way or the other. The AP ...

FLOTUS: Thousand-Dollar Parent-Teacher Tote Bag Sells Out Want one of the cool tote bags Michelle Obama carried to a parent teacher conference about Sasha? Well you can't have it. It's Reed Krakoff, and it's sold out worldwide. And it's $1,000. Via Jezebel.

We Party Patriots » Blog Archive » Vintage @AFSCME Upload: MLK Documentary About the Memphis Sanitation Strike

Vintage @AFSCME Upload: MLK Documentary About the Memphis Sanitation Strike

No reason to explain these events. The tale told that never gets old.

Category: AROUND OUR HEADS ON THE WEB..., UNION HQ, VIDEO
Tags: E.M. Ployd

Schools Matter: How Rule by Corporate Oligarchs Assures Humanity's Quick Demise

How Rule by Corporate Oligarchs Assures Humanity's Quick Demise

by Jim Horn

With the political road ahead seemingly cleared of obstructions to the purchase of the American government by the Kochs and the rest of the parasitic dinosaurs that make up the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one thing is clear: their laser focus goal toward continuing unrestrained greed and social control will not be challenged by anything as prosaic as a global emergency that signals the foreseeable end of human civilization.

These guys won't be deterred from their quarterly mentality and over-filled belly rubbing, even if the planet must be sacrificed in the process. That is why they must be retired quickly. (The Spirit of Cairo is an unconscious manifestation of this pressing fact.)

We have no more than 20 years to embark on an entirely different national and international path to begin to reverse the damage that an ultra-greedy handful of conscience-less capitalists have created for the world's

Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, March 16, 2011